Thesis Writing

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The Research Title

Module 003 The Introduction

Course Learning Outcomes:

1. To discuss the essential elements of the introduction of the thesis
2. To formulate the introduction of the thesis

Introduction
The first chapter of research is entitled The Problem or The Problem
and its Background. Its purpose is to introduce the problem, clarify important
variables and its delimitation, and its significance to the field of study. It has
the following essential elements:
a. Introduction
b. Statement of the Problem
c. Scope and Delimitation
d. Significance of the Study
e. Definition of Terms
f. Notes in Chapter I
Note: The thesis writer has to introduce the different elements of Chapter I
by giving a brief description of each element, for the reader to know what to
expect of the chapter.
Example: This chapter presents the different essential elements: the
introduction which contains the rationale (an explanation of the reason for
the conduct of the research), the literature review and statistical foundation;
he statement of the general and specific problems; the scope and
delimitations, which identify the major variables, sub-variables and the
indicators; the significance of the study; the terms that will be used in the
study and lastly, the notations.

The Introduction
The introduction is very important in establishing the cognitive
setting of the research which involves: (a) rationalizing why there is a need
to research on the problem; (b) clarifying the important terminologies for the
reader to easily understand what the research is all about; (c) establishing
the degree of seriousness of the problem which prompts the researcher to
look for solutions.
The following questions aid the researcher in formulating the
introduction:
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1. What is the rationale of the problem? This question is answered by
sharing with the beneficiaries the reason why the researcher has been
persuaded to look for solutions to the problem. A narration of the
researcher’s experience that led him/her to conduct the study is commonly
done.
Examples are personal experience, an article read, a scene witnessed,
news heard, a theory that needs to be clarified, etc. The proponent should be
describe the existing and prevailing situation based on his/her experience.
The scope may be local, national, or international.
2. What is the setting of the problem? The setting forms part of the
delimitation of the study, as it defines the geographic boundaries of the study
and implies certain demographic characteristics. This describes to the reader
the place where the research was conducted, as the setting has a significant
bearing on the variables being studied.
3. What is the basic literature foundation of the study? This is different
from the review of related theories, conceptual literature, and research
literature. This part purports to provide the researcher the clarity of the
terms or variables used in the study. The terms and variables must be clear
to the researcher so that he/she can make his/her reader understands them.
A background assists the investigator in determining the boundaries of the
study. This part is derived from different literature sources. The use of
various references is highly called for in this part of Chapter I.
4. How serious is the chosen research problem? Why is there a need to
look for a solution to the problem? In this aspect, the investigator is tasked to
see the intensity and magnitude if the problem. When the gravity of the
problem has been established already, the investigator may take action to
work on the problems. Mostly, the researcher at this juncture looks for
statistical or quantitative evidence to assess the weight of the problem.
5. What is the general objective of the problem? This is derived from the
general statement of the problem and should also be the basis of the
enumerated statements of specific problems.
6. What is the overall purpose of the problem? It is very significant to
note that the researcher must be totally aware of the purpose of the research
problem. He/ She must ask how it will help his/her colleagues, or in this case,
students of various disciplines.

Introduction Example:
The Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Competencies of School Managers: Basis
for A Human Relation Intervention Program (Cristobal, 2003)
Most individuals become members of one organization or another- a
college, a sports team, a musical or theatrical group, a religious or civic
organization, a branch of the armed forces, a business, or even an educational
institution. The organization one belongs to will obviously differ from other
organizations in many ways. Some organizations like the army or a large
corporation may be organized very formally. But regardless of how they
differ, all organizations have several basic things in common.
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The Research Title

Perhaps, the most obvious common element the organizations have is

a goal or purpose. The goals will vary- to win a league championship, to
entertain audience, to sell a product-but without a goal, no organization has
any reason to exist. The organization will also have some program or method
for achieving its goals- to practice playing skills in order to win games, to
rehearse a certain number of times before each performance, to manufacture
and advertise a product, or to produce graduates who will be asset of the
society. Without some plan for what it must do, no organization is likely to be
very effective. The organization must acquire and allocate the resources
necessary to achieve its goals- a playing field or rehearsal hall must be
available; money must be budgeted for wages. An organization is not self-
contained, but always exists in an environment with other organization that
it depends on for the resources it needs- a team cannot play without the
required equipment; most manufacturers must maintain contacts with many
different suppliers. Finally, an organization will have a leaser or managers
responsible for helping the organization achieve its goals. Who the leaders
are will probably be more obvious in some organization than in others. But
without some managers- a coach, a conductor, a sales executive, a principal-
the organization is likely to flounder.
The role of manager in an organization is very vital and indispensable.
The goals and objectives set by an organization are impossibly fulfilled
without the manager; thus he/she should be familiar with the different
aspects of management.
Based on the different moves conducted to assess the Philippine
educational system like the EDCOM, 1992 and PCER (Philippine Commission
on Educational Reforms) 2000, there is a common finding that the quality of
educational system is deteriorating. School effectiveness seems to be a dream
and unrealistic.
There are many factors to consider why this degradation happened.
One of the major factors to consider is the quality of the administrator or
manager of an educational institution.
The school manager has varied functions as enumerated in the
Education Act of 1982. Some of these are: (1) he/she is accountable for the
efficient and effective administration and management of the school; (2)
he/she must develop and maintain a healthy school atmosphere conducive to
the promotion and preservation of academic freedom and effective teaching
and learning and to harmonious and progressive school-personnel
relationship and; (3) he/she is to assume and maintain professional behavior
in his/her work in dealing with students, teachers, academic or teaching
personnel, administrative staff, and parents or guardians.
Pefianco (1995), in his speech during the Annual Convention of the
Public Elementary Schools Principal Association in Los Banos , Laguna, saw
an urgent need to dramatically improve education. As such, the school
principal is looked upon as the key variable for quality education in the basic
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education system since he/she is supposed to be an instructional leader or
manager. Hence, there is a need for a more empowered and liberated
principal whose quality of decisions will impact heavily on the quality of
learning taking place in the classroom.
In order for the manager to be effective, there are a lot of
competencies that he/she has to possess and master. Some of these are
competencies that will largely to be used in dealing with people.
Hersey and Blanchard (as cited un Martinez,1992) aptly said “Many of
the most crucial problems are not in the world of things, but in the world of
people.” The study of human behavior therefore is just as important, if not
more important than the study of things. Indeed, there is no other subject
more interesting and challenging than people. Thus, the manager should be
more familiar with human behavior; he/she has to study it. Martinez
continued that there is a need to study human behavior even as one
participates in the day-to-day processes and activities of human life. The
need to understand the behavior of others, especially those that one comes in
contact with and the need to anticipate and predict how others may act in
certain situations are important since they are affected by their own actions.
At the heart of human relationship are people. To a great extent, this
is true. An individual for his/her own reason, is the most important person in
the operation. This demands that managers should have the deepest insight
to the many aspects of human relationship.
The Code of Professional Ethics for Public School Teachers and
Officials in Article VI, Section 7 and 8 that “Effective school administration
demand responsible leadership and direction by all school officials who
should at all times show professional courtesy, helpfulness, and sympathy
towards their teachers; and in the interest of the service, a school official
before formulating major policies or introducing important changes in the
system should give his teachers opportunity for broadminded discussion and
constructive criticism, in the spirit of earnest inquiry and for the good of the
pupils and students.”
According to Leveriza (1993), the textual usage of human relation has
acquired several meanings. Each of these meanings has a relationship to the
management of people at work. It is often used in the sense of interpersonal
dealings and relationships among individual with an individual, individual
with a group, and group to group. Human relations are an approach to the
design of jobs based on the assumption that employees like to take
responsibility for their work.
Most important from a management perspective is that no one
escapes human relationship in an organization. Its effects are both personal
and organizational and they affect organization effectiveness. So, in the
organization a person gets realistic on this matter by sticking with work
issues. Only by standing together can they prevail.
How can a manager bring out the best in his/her subordinates
towards developing a certainty about their own personal worth and in
building their own inner strength or self-confidence? There are no easy
answers to these queries. But no problem is too big not to be resolved by an
innovative and flexible manager.
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The Research Title

This is an example of Introduction from a thesis adopted in this module to

showcase the easy and proper way of writing the introduction. Students will
be able to create their own introduction by following the guidelines of thesis
writing.
Note:
The preceding examples in the formulation of Chapter 1 or the
Introduction are recommended for a beginner but in the American
Psychology Association (APA) format, the body of the paper opens with an
introduction that represents the specific problem under study and describes
the research strategy. The introduction is not labeled because of its obvious
position in the article. Since the body of the article in this format has only
four major parts (introduction, methods, results, and discussion), the authors
acknowledge that it is not friendly for a beginner in research to follow the
APA format because of its complexity.
In the APA format, the introduction does not only introduce the
problem but also develop the background of the study which includes the
analysis of related literature and studies reviewed, and the statement of the
purpose and rationale which likewise includes the significance of the study,
conceptual framework, and the statement of the problem.

References:

Books and Journals

Glatthorn, A. A. (1998). Writing the winning dissertation. A step-by-step

guide. Corwin Press, Inc.Katkuvienė, L. E., & Šeškauskienė, I. 1999. Writing
a research paper. The student’s guide. Vilnius.

Lileikienė, A., Šaparnis, G., & Tamošiūnas, T. (2004). Magistro darbo

rengimo metodika. Šiauliai: Šiaulių universiteto leidykla.

McMillan, J. H. (1996). Educational research: fundamentals for the

consumer (2nd ed.). New York: HarperCollins.

Nunan, D. (2010). Research methods in language learning. New Delhi:

Cambridge University Press.

Titscher, S., Meyer, M., Wodak, R., & Vetter, E. (2000). Methods of text
and discourse analysis. London: SAGE Publications.

Verikaitė, D. (2006). Writing an MA paper. Guidelines for students of

English Philology. Vilnius: VPU.
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